COLUMBIA COUNTY, FL – Years ago, before Lake Shore
Hospital Authority Manager Jackson P. "Jack" Berry
became the Authority's Records Custodian, obtaining
records from the Lake Shore Hospital Authority was
generally not an issue. With the advent of Mr. Berry's
consolidation of power, public records access has become
a serious issue.

Recently, Mr. Berry refused to release
his background credit report used in the Board's
deliberation to hire him. The First Amendment Foundation
said this was wrong.

On Wednesday afternoon, the Lake Shore Hospital
Authority received a letter from Barbara Peterson, the
President of the First Amendment Foundation. Ms.
Peterson is one of the preeminent experts in Florida and
America in the fields of Open Government and Public
Records Law.

The letter was regarding a public records request
made by Ms. Barbara Jeffords Lemley on December 2, 2013.
Ms. Lemley Jeffords requested the background information
report maintained in Mr. Berry's personnel file. This
background check was conducted when Mr. Berry was under
consideration for the part time Authority Manager
position in 2010.

"I will not release the personal credit report
without a court order.”

On December 4, 2013, Mr. Berry responded in relevant
part to Ms. Jeffords Lemley’s request: “Ms. Lemley
Jeffords The requested education verification report is
ready. I will not release the personal credit report
without a court order.”

On December 6, 2013, after receiving two pages of the
four page background report, Ms. Lemley Jeffords asked
Mr. Berry for the statutory reason for the exemptions in
the first two pages, as well as the reason for the
removal of the last two pages of the report, Mr. Berry's
credit information.

On December 11, 2013, after Ms. Jeffords Lemley asked
again for the statutory exemptions, Mr. Berry replied in
an email, "I have responded."

Ms. Jeffords Lemley then attempted to gain access to
the report through the open government mediation program
run by the Florida Attorney General’s office. She was
unsuccessful. The Hospital Authority was unresponsive to
the idea. Authority Manager Berry never put the question
of whether or not to try and mediate the issue on the
Authority's agenda. No one on the Governor appointed
board said a word.

On May 9, 2014, five months after Ms. Jeffords Lemley
requested the reason for the exemption of the report and
after rejecting the Attorney General's mediation
program, Authority Board Attorney, Marlin Feagle, opined
that the record was exempt pursuant the federal Fair
Credit Reporting Act.

First Amendment Foundation doesn't agree

The First Amendment Foundation's Peterson’s legal
analysis states in part: “It is our opinion that the
Board’s assertion that Mr. Berry’s credit report – pages
3 and 4 of the background information report – is exempt
from disclosure pursuant to FCRA is ill founded... is
founded on a misreading of the federal statute and is
not grounded in law.”

Ms. Peterson concluded her letter with the following:
“Accordingly, we ask that you rectify this public
records violation and immediately provide Ms. Jeffords
with a copy of pages 3 and 4 of Mr. Berry’s background
information report.”

Yesterday, the Observer asked Mr. Berry, "Do you plan
to accept Ms. Peterson’s legal analysis, or do you plan
to make Ms. Jeffords Lemley sue you and the Authority to
gain access to page 3 and 4 of your background
information report, a report that was used in your
hiring process?"

Mr. Berry responded, "I have received your e-mail and
have referred it to the Attorney."